The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 39,848 | 97.14% | 42,415 | 97.51% |
| Spanish | 264 | 0.64% | 542 | 1.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 785 | 1.91% | 351 | 0.81% |
| Asian Language** | 73 | 0.18% | 169 | 0.39% |
| Other | 51 | 0.12% | 21 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 41,021 | 100.00% | 43,498 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 164 | 30.26% |
| Other Indo-European* | 67 | 19.09% |
| Asian Language** | 108 | 63.91% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 339 | 0.78% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 80 | 30.30% |
| Other Indo-European* | 89 | 11.34% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 42.47% |
| Other Language | 11 | 21.57% |
| Total | 211 | 0.51% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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